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Monday, January 28, 2013

A Breastfeeding Journey Celebration

I would like to nominate a day to become a national holiday. I am not really sure how to make this happen, so I am going to start here on Mummie's Nummies. January is a month filled with national holidays. Let's see we have:

National Bath Safety Month

National Blood Donor Month

National Braille Literacy Month

National Hobby Month

Hot Tea Month

National Oatmeal Month

National Soup Month

These holidays are awesome, I mean who doesn't like a good soup? BUT I would like to add to that list. I would like to add a celebration to the month of January, but I would like to go a bit further than that. I would like to add a specific day in January. January 28 to be exact. What is so special about this day? Why would I want to create a holiday on this day? Well you see.... today is the day that I am ALL DRIED UP! No more Nummies, no more lactating. NO MORE BREASTMILK. Yes... after 5 years of breastfeeding, lactating and/or leaking my body has stopped producing the breast-leche!

As you know, Kit Kat has been nursing once a week for a LONG time now. Since we decided to let her self wean, when she was ready, it has been a process that she has happily been in charge of. My supply has been dipping over time and I knew the day was coming when I could no longer hand squeeze a jet stream of breastmilk in the shower.

Last week, Kit Kat asked to "eat my nummies." I obliged and was slightly surprised when she was done is 20 seconds. I looked at her and asked "did you even get any?" She simply shrugged and said "nope" and snuggled in to watch some tv. So that got me thinking! Later that morning, in the shower, I did my "squeeze test" and got a few drops... DROPS! No jet stream, no water pistols. Nothing but a couple of drops! Not even a few drops... a couple as in TWO. So I knew our journey was coming to an end. That was the last time she (seriously) asked to "eat" (she has asked a few times since then, but follows her question with a crazy giggle that screams "I'm sooooooo kidding.)

Kit Kat could possibly be our last baby and I was not able to celebrate my breastfeeding journey with Pooker. So I wanted to do something special. I am proud of our journey and I thought it deserved to be celebrated. The thought of a party crossed my mind... but I did not think that would go over well with "The Fam" and what good is a party without party guests? So I decided the next best thing at a party (besides the cake) are BALLOONS!!! And so The Breastfeeding Journey Celebration plans were born.

Needed:

Find a store with easy access to balloons and helium that would also have a good number of little children.(We choose Walmart. We also ran into a bit of an issue here... seems my Walmart was OUT of helium to inflate the balloons... so I had to purchase a $20.00 helium tank kit... Sorry Mr Mummie.... but we are now the proud owners of a helium tank and 75 balloons!)

Grab some Mummie friends and their Nummie Lovers

Marker (To write on Kit Kat's balloon.)

Camera (For the awesome moments that you want to capture. This is a celebration after all!)

What to do:

Write a message on Kit Kat's balloon. Hers said "No more Nummies!" and tie to the cart.

Fill balloons and simply hand them out to any child you see. (It is a good idea to ask the parent first.) All I said was "Hi! We are passing out balloons and was wondering if we could give him/her one?" No parent said "no" although some were a bit puzzled! But they happily took a balloon from Kit Kat (or me when she decided she was too shy.)

Take photos of the whole celebration. I took photos of my Mummie friends and their Nummie Lovers, but did not take any of the other children. But trust me... they were there! It was a SLOW day at Walmart as it took 45 minutes to pass out 8 balloons!

Are you ready to celebrate with us? Come along for our Breastfeeding Journey Celebration!

(Proud to celebrate our breastfeeding journey.)

(Kit Kat and her 8 balloons we are passing out. You can only see two balloons...but we had 8! She even picked the balloon colors. Her hand is in the balloon bag!)

(Kit Kat found a little girl who NEEDED a balloon. She saw her before I did! "Over there Mommy!")

(Kit Kat grabbed the camera, that was strapped to my neck, and snapped a picture. Seems she wanted me to be part of the celebration too!)

(Our friend "T" chillin' with his Nummie balloon.)

(Our friends "Big C" and "T" celebrating with us!)

(Baby "C" and her Mummie... Baby "C" is the little sister of "Big C." Her smile is the biggest thing about her! And trust me the girl has some BIG ROLLS on her!!!)

(All of our friends who came to celebrate our Breastfeeding Journey... Minus a Mummie... hmm she must have been hiding. We had a blast and are so glad they came along!)

I was asked today if I was sad that we were done breastfeeding. And to be perfectly honest... I am not sad. Our journey ended slowly and peacefully. It was a process that gave me time to prepare for the end and to be honest.... there was no better way to end it. Kit Kat and I rocked our journey for approximately 3 years, 38 months, 1170 days, 167 weeks. We battled Reflux, never ending feedings, negative comments, bite marks and pure exhaustion (just to name a few.) We enjoyed silent moments, silly expressions, irreplaceable bonding, slightly embarrassing shirt grabbing in public, slightly publicly embarrassing toddler comments about "EATING NUMMIES NOW", breastfed toddler antics and endless memories. All great things must come to an end but I am so proud of what we have accomplished, how far we went and how amazing it all was.

I never thought I would say "Yeah I breastfed my three year old" without a second thought. I never thought that I would feel so proud of myself for a simple act. I never thought breastfeeding would play such a huge part in my role as "Mommy." But I did breastfeed my 3 year old, I am proud and breastfeeding HAS played a huge role. And I would not want it any other way.

I am honored to have breastfed Kit Kat. I am honored to have breastfed Pooker. I am honored that I was able to breastfeed at all and enjoy the journey that was created. There is just something about watching your baby growing and KNOWING "that is all me doing that!" I feel amazing that I was able to experience that.

So here is to the past 5 years (total), the amazing journeys and memories that came along with it. Cheers to us (Pooker and Kit Kat) we rocked our journeys the best way we knew how. And we came out on the other end with smiles on our faces, pride in our hearts and a feeling of accomplishment that only we can understand. In the words of my daughters "Rock on Sista friend!!!!"

(Kit Kat)

(Pooker)

Rock YOUR journey Mummies. Celebrate the small milestones and the big ones. Be proud of where you are and where you have been, because it is and was an amazing place to be.